1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic

The Fiat 8V (the Otto Vu) made its public debut at the Geneva Auto Salon in March of 1952. The car was powered by Fiat's new 70-degree, overhead-valve V8 engine designed by Dante Giacosa. A total of 114 examples of the 8V were built, and 40 of these had Fiat factory coachwork while the rest were finished by other Italian carrozzerie. Ghia built 15 of these 8V Supersonics designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi.

This car is thought to have been the one shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show. The original owner of this car was Howard 'Dutch' Darrin, who then sold it to Briggs Cunningham. It was one of two Supersonics bought by Darrin. This car disappeared for a time, but re-appeared in the early 1960s.

This Fiat 8V Supersonic is powered by a 1,996 overhead valve alloy V8 engine offering 110 horsepower and backed by a four-speed manual gearbox. There is an independent suspension and four-wheel Alfin drum brakes. It was built by Ghia in 1953 and painted ivory, while and finished in white with red leather, a front grille with additional lights and no bumpers. This car was built alongside its stablemate, #0039, by Ghia. The two Supersonics were shipped from Genoa, Italy, to the USA by 'Dutch' Darrin. Darrin believed he could sell the two Supersonics in New York for a profit. The following year, the car was acquired by Briggs Swift Cunningham to gift to his wife, Lucie. Cunningham invited Darrin to drive the Supersonic to the 12-Hour Grand Prix at the Sebring on March 6, 1954. Darrin drove the car on the 1,330 mile road trip in time for Friday practice. At that point in history, the car had less than 3,000 miles on the odometer. After a test drive, Cunningham wrote a check for $9,500. After the Sebring event, Cunningham presented the Supersonic to his wife, who drove the car throughout 1954 until her husband sold it to a dealer in Hartford, Connecticut.

Dr. Webb of California acquired the 8V in 1959, who registered it with the license plate TYF835. In 1962 it was repainted in Metallic Medium Gray. A year later it was acquired by Bruce Pierce, who had the original transmission and engine replaced with a Chevrolet V8 and drive train. The car was then purchased by Erik Nielsen of California who registered it under MGC425 and submitted it to another repaint, this time in Metallic Gold.

In 1981, it entered the care of Jarl de Boer of Walnut Creek, California. While in his care, the car was painted Regency Red and the left door replaced. It was registered under 206VOB and retained by Mr. de Boer until 2001, when ownership transferred to Paul Sable of PA. In 2012, it entered the collection of an individual from Belgium. Since then, it has received a nut-and-bolt restoration back to its original specification. It was returned to its original livery of white over red with Borrani wire wheels, exactly as it first appeared at the World Motor Sports Show in Madison Square Gardens in 1954.

In 2017, it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and shown at the Salon Retromobile in February, 2018, in Paris at the Portes de Versailles, where it was acquired by the current UK based collector.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2019